Cooking with the Chimney Inside

[BBcue-Z]

I had an old Weber chimney that was falling apart, so I removed the handle and placed a couple of screws where the handle rivets were. I also removed the wire coal grate from the chimney as it was falling apart too.

Placed the gourmet grate in the kettle and then placed the chimney in the center

Added the Rotis ring to give more room for air to circulate. The ring also allowed me to place the thermometer directly above the cooking grate to monitor the temp around the food. I think the temp would be hotter near the top of the lid and placing the thermometer in the lid may give a different reading.

Placed lit coals in the chimney up to second set of vent holes, which was almost close to the cooking grate level. I also place a couple of hickory chunks near the bottom of the chimney near the elongated holes.

The temp reached 360 degrees within few min


Onto the food
Started with well seasoned boneless and skinless chicken thighs

Placed a piece of smoked sausage inside each thigh. I scored the smoked sausage lengthwise with a knife several times in order to allow the juices to flavor the chicken.

I then wrapped them with bacon and used tooth picks to prevent them from falling apart



Placed them on the grill

Added corn and carrots an hour later

And the cooking almost done an hour and 45 min later

Dinner is served


The chicken was very moist and tasty!!


The method worked really well and I never had to add any additional coals. I maintained the temp by adjust the lower vents only. I figured the chimney would be pulling air from the lower vent, and since the heat is focused upwards, I left the upper vent wide open so more heat can escape. The final temp was around 330 degrees when I pulled the chicken off, but remained at 360 during the majority of cooking time.

This method also gave an idea for Tandoori style cooking (high heat). I had put few pieces of chicken leftover from trimming the thighs on a skewer. I then put it on top of the chimney first

Then dropped inside

It cooked really fast and was very juicy. It reminded of a real Tandoor oven.
I think I'm going to try the chimney inside my WSM and drop the long metal skewer around it just like a Tandoor oven. I have a feeling it would turn out great!!!
But that's another experiment for another time

[Jammato]

Now I am going have to try that

looks good

[BBcue-Z]

Thanks Jammato,
I really enjoyed this project

[Jammato]

It looks like something I would enjoy myself, finding ways to control a cook to get the most out of the food is big with me. I have an older chiminey in my camping stuff, now to convince the wife it needs to be updated and I am ....................

[rwhinton]

Such a fantastic idea. Thanks.

[austin87]

Very cool - I love tandoori chicken and haven't been able to get it cooked properly yet

[addicted-to-smoke]

Looks awesome, love all of it. I'm wondering, if you cut the chimney down if that wouldn't allow just the lid and still have all the benefits (sans tandoori method.)

[Jeff]

Nice idea! And yes, + 1 on the idea of cutting the chimney down a little bit.
Food looked perfect as well!

[5280Jeff]

Excellent idea!!! That looks fantastic, I will definately be trying this method. Thanks!

[1buckie]

Z.....I think you may know Awning Guy from Smoke Ring....




http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/this-one's-for-cookingmama-~~~~gt/msg9666/#msg9666

[addicted-to-smoke]

So buckie, that's a regular grate he cut and added the trim ring? Looks really interesting. Like a charcoal bomb. Reminds me of the lead cylinders we used to use at the research nuclear reactor in college. We'd lower clear topaz down into the core, take it out a few months later and it'd be blue. (And then store them for some months as they "cooled down ..." That's typically how you buy blue topaz from jewelry stores.

But I digress.

[BBcue-Z]

Thank you ALL
Addicted-to-smoke,
I'm not sure if I'll be able to cut the chimney in a half, since the martial is so flimsy. Once I removed the handle, the chimney was one long thin sheet of metal. I would give it a try, but I have one more thing to try with it whole first.

1buckie,
I remember Awning Guy, but I don't remember seeing that awesome gadget.  That would be great for long-term solution. Mine cost me nothing and took 2 minutes to make

[1buckie]

His was a little more involved (see link) but kinda interesting coming from basically a non-Weber person......

[WNC]

Wow it's like a homemade vortex, nice work!

[Taz]

That's a great idea and the food looks amazing. I will have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.